Lee Waisler

A Perfect Circle

March 2 – 20, 2005

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1938, Lee Waisler began his studies at the Hollywood Academy of Art at the age of seven. This early experience defined the trajectory of his profession. He continued his education in the fine arts at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Waisler's early style diverged from that of the California school of abstraction spearheaded by Clyfford Still. Drawn to the writings of Samuel Beckett and the works of Alberto Giacometti and Mark Rothko, he began to paint seductively beautiful forms in a rich variety of materials, each replete with cross-cultural symbols and references. In the 1960's, Waisler advanced his aesthetic ideas by creating forms that were charged with social and political content and possessed aspects of Abstract Expressionism. In a slow, accretive process, Waisler took to layering his canvases with thick pigments, sand, gesso, glass, shells, and other organic elements. Waisler's belief in the interrelated duality of creation and destruction led him to Hindu-Buddhist precepts, as noted by the art historian Arturo Schwarz in his essay on Waisler: "At the basis of Hindu aesthetics and art is the vision of inseparable unity of the whole, expressed by the non-duality of duality (Advaita)." His friendship with the philosopher J. Krishnamurthi and the Indophile artist Beatrice Wood, both of whom lived near him in Ojai, California, strengthened Waisler's interest in Hindu-Buddhist philosophy and culture. His long study of that culture bore fruit when, in 1996, he was invited by Prime Minister I. K. Gujral to exhibit at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.

Lee Waisler's art is in the permanent collections of many of the world's most important museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Perfect Circle is open from March 2 through March 20, 2005. Sundaram Tagore Gallery is located at 547 West 27th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues) in Chelsea, New York City. For additional press information, contact Sundaram Tagore Gallery 212-677-4520.

About Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the confluence of Western and non-Western cultures. The focus is on developing exhibitions of intellectual rigor and showcasing artists who are engaged in spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues with traditions other than their own.

Our interest in cross-cultural dialogue extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music. We host non-profit events that stimulate the exchange of ideas and push the envelope of artistic, intellectual and cultural boundaries. Our focus is to help artists of all ages, and art organizations from around the globe to exhibit, perform and produce their work.